


Better Than Ever

by flamingosarepink



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Borussia Dortmund, Ficlet, M/M, Other than it's inspired by THAT photo of Marco making a silly face on the BVB FB, i dont even really know what this is, that's the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2019-01-05 14:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12191319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamingosarepink/pseuds/flamingosarepink
Summary: Take your time. It'll be worth it in the end.





	Better Than Ever

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mm_nani](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mm_nani/gifts).



> Nani, take this small ficlet as a token of my appreciation for you and that amazing amazing fic you wrote for me. I know this isn't much, but I hope you enjoy it!

Maybe being off of the team this long has made him a jealous person, but there’s something about the way that Auba hugs Mili after having scored that makes a certain feeling bubble up deep inside of him as he watches from the stands, simultaneously hiding and glaring down at them from behind his coffee cup as he sits bundled up in his jacket high up in his box seat. It is, he supposes, a natural thing to watch his team go on without him whether it be in regular league matches or in the Champions League. You win as a team and lose as a team, and Marco wants all of it. It’s part of the sport, and suddenly Marco finds himself missing it. The physio tells him he’ll back before he knows it because after all, he’s back in the gym already. _It’s September already, January isn’t far off. You don’t have much longer to go, considering what kind of injury. Take your time. It’ll be worth it in the end._ They say, as Marco grimaces through another appointment of having his knee worked on. It’s easy for them to say, when they don’t have to watch their best friend with his replacement. _Replacement._

Just thinking about the word stings. 

\- - - - - - 

The next time Auba and Marco see each other, it’s after the match versus Monchengladbach, and the locker room is almost euphoric from the 6-1 win. 

Marco is stubborn, wishing that he was the one celebrating with Auba after he had scored the hat trick. They’re a team after all, even if at the moment they aren’t. Words of the physio be damned, if he could be out there on the field helping his team he would. But it’s hard to have those feelings in the current atmosphere. Yes, it’s another regular league match, however everyone is smiling and there’s music playing loudly in the locker room. Marco is sitting by were he normally would sit; in front of where his locker would be. The awkwardness of not having been in the match makes his stomach twist, but not before Auba is sitting beside him with a smile as bright as the sun shines on the first day of Summer. From the way he leans in, it’s almost like he can read how let down his friend is. “They’re saying you’ll be back soon,” Auba says, eyes mirroring his smile. 

“Not soon enough.” Marco chuckles as he looks at his feet, thinking about how at least he doesn’t have to see that chunky ugly knee brace anymore- A small consolation. 

“Think about it this way,” Auba begins to speak and leans in close. Marco’s eyes drift down to the lips of his friend briefly. “Any time that you’ve been injured, you always come back better than ever. This time is no different. Try not to worry too much, okay?” Auba places a hand on Marco’s back, rubbing it in a way just as gentle as his tone of voice.

“ I know, I know. But it’s just that-“ Marco is interrupted by loud cheers, Auba quickly looks away and of course someone had to have the idea of taking a post match photo. It’s a natural thing, even if it caught them both off guard. Nuri rushes over to where they’re sitting once another teammate realizes their star is missing. “Auba, you have to be at the front of the photo,” He says. Marco doesn’t expect to be included; maybe it’s just that negativity that seems to seeping in slowly lately, but then Nuri waves him over too. “You don’t get to miss out on this, you’re still one of us you know.”

The photo ends up being posted on Facebook, the whole team nearly filling the whole space. Everyone is all smiles, with Marco completing the photo at the back making a funny face. While it’s hard for him to sit back and relax in order to heal, he remembers the promise that he and Auba made to each other all that time ago. Rushing himself, risking his recovery would be breaking that promise. 

That is the last thing Marco ever wants to do.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's to Marco's return to the pitch- When ever that may be!


End file.
